Wen Zhongyuan appeared to be a scholar; he valued culture over martial prowess, a trait he inherited from his learned grandfather. He naturally believed himself to be one destined to strategize from the court rather than to charge into battle. Throughout history, no emperor had ever ruled solely by force; the mind played a more crucial role, and Wen Zhongyuan aspired to be such a ruler.
However, valuing the civil over the military did not mean Wen Zhongyuan lacked martial arts knowledge. On that day, as the Ancient Buddha failed to seize Tang Ye's fortune from Dry Wood Spring and died from a blow to the crown of his head, he transformed into a blood-red Shariputra that embodied his will to oppose Tang Ye. And it was Wen Zhongyuan who obtained this Shariputra. By acquiring it, he effectively gained the power of the Ancient Buddha, and thus he knelt and worshipped, calling him master. This gratitude and decisiveness alone set him apart from ordinary men.